27th January - 2nd February 2025
‘From the Heart’
2024 was the most difficult year of my life. Losing our beautiful Mum and then my beloved Jim. It has sometimes been difficult to find the joy of the Lord, to sense His presence or to hear Him speak in the midst of grief, despair, emptiness, dreariness and weariness, yet the good news is He does. I cannot tell you the times He has sent His angels (possibly some that are reading this) and even strangers to comfort and hug me from Heaven. This is our God – personal, loving, caring, tender, compassionate, generous and kind. For me, praise (whether I feel like it or not) always softens my heart, draws me near His throne to worship Him and receive from Him. (I practice this a lot. It works!!!!)
Isaiah 61:3 prescribes a garment of praise for our conditions. I know there are many in our Church family going through grief, strife, difficulties, trials and tribulations of all kinds, trying to navigate through life whilst holding on. Indeed, sometimes clinging on by our fingertips. Wondering, will this ever end? Will we ever recover? Where is God? Will He turn up? The good news is, in all of these circumstances God’s word says He has never left us, He is always present, He is working His purpose out. Nothing surprises our Father. He waits for us to cry out to Him. Quite often, when troubles arise, our first reaction is to call or text someone. Our loving Father says we have a direct line to Him. ‘Come to me all you who are weak and heavy laden and I will give you rest.’ As we do this, we may not get immediate answers but we do receive the sense of peace and calm that only He can bring. Life is uncertain for each of us and the world outside looks chaotic. We have no idea what each day holds yet we know for certain God is faithful, merciful, just and true, His word is truth, His promises are sure, His love is unconditional. We can lean on Him to strengthen, restore, support and sustain us. We need only take time to be still and talk openly to our Heavenly Father, casting our care on Him.
As we pray through this week, for our own situations, those of others, for what’s happening in the world, may we draw near to Abba Father by faith, praising Him for who He is, trusting Him, making Him our refuge and strength, knowing He desires us to come to Him.
Written by Noreen Reid
MONDAY
Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10
(Take a few moments to still our hearts before Him now.)
Father God, you call us to quieten our restless minds, to pause in life’s endless activities. Help us, we pray, in the busyness of life, to set time aside for you and see with fresh eyes who you are. God Almighty, El Shaddai, the God who created and controls the universe and all that is within. Thank you for your Holy Spirit who is resident in the hearts of all those who come in repentance. We cannot fathom this. How comforting when we know the plans you have for us will not be shaken even when they shake us to the very core. Like the Psalmist, may we be safe in the assurance that you are God and we can wait on you even amidst chaos and pain in a broken world. We are filled with gratitude for your unchanging, unsearchable, immeasurable love. We thank you Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life and our prayers are made acceptable to you through Him, our advocate. We desire to praise you mind, body and soul. We humbly ask ‘Abba’, take our head knowledge and make it heart knowledge, deepen our trust as we walk through this precarious world and, in spite of circumstances, may we respond to you in thanksgiving and worship by offering our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, the kind that you will find acceptable. Amen.
TUESDAY
Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in Him, for He shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between His shoulders. Deuteronomy 33:12
ABBA Father, what a beautiful picture this verse brings. Thank you that we are your beloved. We can rest secure in knowing that you are in control and will take care of us at all times. As we rest between your shoulders we hear your heartbeat, we can know and feel your love like a baby resting in his mother’s arm. We can know that supernatural peace in the midst of this world’s trials. May our hearts leap with joy as we meditate on this verse. Jehovah Rapha, the God who heals. Jehovah Rah, our faithful Shepherd. Lord of Lords and the name above all names, we praise you because you are trustworthy and true. We pray for those that are suffering at this moment, whether through circumstances out of our control or for those we have caused ourselves through sin. Forgive us, Lord, cleanse us, renew us, rebuild us, refresh us, restore us. We trust you to make something good with our brokenness. Thank you, whilst you work on us we are loved, held secure and shielded. Amen.
WEDNESDAY
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9
King Eternal, how we thank you for your Church worldwide, for those you have called to be teachers and expositors of your word. We pray you grant protection, discernment, knowledge and great wisdom as they divide your word in truth. We ask that you give them courage and boldness to proclaim it. We pray against sheep in wolves’ clothing, that you would reveal and remove them. We bring before you Glenabbey and our elders. We praise and thank you for them. For those that teach your word faithfully week by week, the bitter with the sweet. Thank you for the courage you give them to proclaim truth. No matter how difficult, cause them to stay faithful. Knowing it can be costly for them to do so, may you protect, strengthen and inspire them, grant refreshing times as they seek you. Father, will you bless and encourage them and their families with a closer walk with you. As they shepherd us, may we not just hear the word but be doers of it, may we shine like stars as we hold firmly to the word of life. May we be their encouragement. We ask they accomplish your plans for the Church, hearing but one voice. Yours. Amen.
THURSDAY
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, that in the Lord your labour is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58
Saviour and Lord, we remember your word, ‘How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news”. We praise you for those men and women of old who lifted high the name of Jesus. We are grateful for all those you have called from our Church family, whether domestic or overseas, to mission. We recognise that they face many trials and tribulations, yet you know all about them. We are thankful that those you call you also equip. We pray, as they present the gospel by word and deed, that they might be encouraged by it themselves. We ask your presence, your protection, your wisdom in decision making, that they will be Holy Spirit led. Grant each one boldness to overcome their own fears, their own sense of possible rejection. We pray against evil forces that would seek to hinder the spread of the gospel and against discouragement. May you soften hearts to receive your word, may the seeds planted flourish and may there be an abundant harvest. Give grace and courage to keep going even in the tough times. We ask for all the necessary funds needed for each mission. Impress and prompt our hearts to the part we can play in helping and blessing them by praying, doing, going and giving as we too are called to be partners with them using the gifts you gave us. For your name and glory. May we and they be immovable, abounding in your work so that our labour is not in vain. Amen.
FRIDAY
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. Luke 19:10
Loving, Compassionate, Sovereign God, heaven and earth are yours and everything in it. How we cry to you for a world that looks as if it’s spiralling out of control, yet we know you hold it in your hands. Your word declares that judgement must come, though you are still holding it back in your great unfathomable mercy. We cry out to you for all those that are lost, including those in our own families that, even in spite of trials and tribulations, seem to walk further away from you. Soften them, open eyes and ears, open doors, empower and embolden us to take opportunities to share the good news. Open hearts like you opened Lydia’s outside the city when Paul shared the gospel with her. Father, will you forgive us for not praying, for not taking every opportunity for the lost, for the broken, for those we might consider unworthy. We thank you that you love them and ‘do not desire the death of the wicked but that they should turn from their evil way and live for you”. Lord, in your mercy grant us eyes to see others as you see them, to love them as you do. May our hearts hunger and thirst after righteousness in this lost and wayward world, may Jesus be revealed in and through us. May the evil one be thwarted on every level as we arm ourselves in your armour to fight the good fight. To you, our Father, be the glory. Amen.
SATURDAY
The earth is the Lords and everything in it. Psalm 24:1
All powerful Lord, we pray for countries experiencing the turmoil of conflict and political instability. May peace be restored among the nations. Give wisdom, integrity, patience, humility, endurance and perseverance to world leaders and governments so that they will work for the good of the people they govern. May they not be self-seeking or self-serving. For those who have had to flee their homes due to persecution and conflict, may they find loving communities. We pray for those in despair working on the ground, we thank you that your property is always to have mercy. Please supply all their needs according to your riches in glory. We pray for the medical staff and health care workers, thanking you for their tireless work in these places. We are often overwhelmed when we see the news, yet we thank you for your promise that one day you will wipe away all tears, there will be no more death nor sorrow. May your Church continue to share hope far and wide in the all-powerful name of Jesus. Your Kingdom Come, your will be done on earth as in heaven. Amen.
SUNDAY
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119:11
Loving Shepherd, we thank you for all the children and young people from the youngest to the oldest. Our hearts sing when we see them in Church. We pray for each one, that they will become followers of Christ, loving and serving Him. Holy Spirit, make their hearts come alive in repentance and faith. We pray for friendships that will help grow each other in Jesus. Grant them to hide your word in their hearts that they might be transformed from the inside out. May their love for you grow. Give them courage to live in an increasingly hostile world. Transform their hearts and minds to love and treasure Christ above all else so that they will have the strength not to conform to the pattern of this world. We pray protection over their hearts and minds when they inevitably face hostility. Thank you for those who lead, nourish and grow our kids in Church. Keep all humble in heart and teachable in Spirit. May they look to Jesus for guidance in all things. Guard them from all that would cause them to stumble and guide them into all truth, in Jesus’ name. We thank, praise and give you glory for listening to the prayers of our hearts. Thank you we can boldly approach your throne. We can rest and trust you will answer in your time and will. Amen!
We join with the Angels, Elders and four living creatures and fall down before your throne saying … praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honour and power and strength be to our God forever and ever. Amen, Amen, Amen.